Imitation Is The Sincerest Form Of Limitation
by Eternal Love Song
Summary: Princess Sif has done everything that she can to be a prince like her brother Thor, but nothing seems to be enough. On the night she first meets Loki, the jotunn that has been a student of Asgard since a year prior, she learns that perhaps is not so important to be a prince as it s to be herself.


"I hate dresses," Sif grumbled as her mother tightened the corset around her waist. She gasped when Frigga pulled the laces especially tight, startled into looking up at the mirror and seeing the slightly scolding expression of her mother's face.

"I understand that you wish to challenge traditions," Frigga said, "But there is no need to complain about every little thing."

"I'm a warrior." Sif grumbled.

"You are a princess," Frigga replied. "I don't request that you act like it very often, but all the realms will be in attendance tonight and I'd just like things to go smoothly."

"It's a masquerade!" She stressed. "No one will know who I am whether or not I'm dressed like a princess.'"

"Just do this for your father."

If she had a soldier for every time her mother or anyone else had fed her that line, she'd be in control of her own army by now. She held her tongue, something she was forced to do more often than she liked, but that she never did as often as she should.

"Thank you, darling." Frigga kissed her on her cheek and left her to continue getting ready for the night's festivities.

* * *

Sif waited five minutes, long enough that her mother was sure to be gone from the corridor, before she went off to her brother's room.

She entered his rooms without knocking, as he so often did to her. "Thor, I need you!" She yelled.

"You don't need to yell, my rooms aren't that big." Thor said as he came from his bedroom into the common area. He was dressed in formal attire as she was, something that she knew he hated. He looked handsome and uncomfortable. It was something they had in common, they were warriors first, royalty second. They both had a dislike for these events, the formal clothing and forced manners included. They were usually together when they left events early and when they found new hiding places to avoid them in the first place.

"I need pants," She told him. She gestured to the crimson dress she had been stuffed in, a match for his own bright red formal wear, same as their golden hair that was tied tightly behind their heads. Frigga always did like to make them a matched set.

"You know that you cannot fit my clothing," Thor said.

Sif smiled at him as she walked past him. "You don't know that I've been hiding my clothes in your closets."

"What?" Thor asked as he followed her to his bedroom.

"You never look through your closets. I've been hiding my stuff in here for a while now." She went to riffling through the mess that was perpetually on his closet floor. No matter what maids came to clean, he would always have them in disarray within a week. It made it easy to hide things, when he was so careless and messy. Not that Sif was so much better.

"Since when?"

"I had the tailors make me imitations of your clothing," She told him.

"Mother would never allow that."

"Yes, she would," Sif argued. "If I were quiet about it."

"Father would never allow it," He said instead.

"Father doesn't know." She grunted as she tore at the laces at the back of her dress. "Why do you think I made my colors the same as yours?" She asked. "It was so that I could hide my things with yours better."

"How long have you been planning this?" He questioned. He slapped her hands away and began to undo the laces himself. He was used to having to free her from the confines of her formal wear, used to her trying to be as much, if not more, of a prince as he.

Sif looked at him over her shoulder, sticking out her tongue. "The worse thing you ever did to me was that growth spurt of yours."

Thor finished with the laces and ties at her back and pushed her forward slightly, further into the closet. "Go on," He said, turning around. "Finish riffling through my clothes."

"My clothes," She corrected. "It's not my fault that you never look through your own room. Asgard is going to have two prince's at this party if I have a say in it."

"Clothes don't make you a prince, Sif."

"No, but it's not just clothes. Everything you can do, I can do, too. I wield a weapon just as well as you do. I've fought just as hard as you have, won just as many battles. If you're a prince, then so am I!"

"I'm not trying to argue with you, Sif." Thor told her. "There is no shame in being like mother."

"I don't want to be like mother!" Sif snapped. She stomped out of the closet and Thor turned to face her, assured by the noise that she would be dressed when he looked. "I want to be like father. Father, wants me to be like him. Everyone wants Asgard to have two princes."

He reached out to her, taking hold of her arm and pulling her close. "Sif, you are my sister. I am glad that you are my sister. I wouldn't want you to be any other way."

"Well you are the only one!" She exclaimed as she met his eyes. "Everyone else in this family wanted a prince. I have done everything that I can do to be the prince that they wanted. I fight when they want me to fight, I lead armies when they want me to lead, I even smile and make nice when they want me to."

"I'm not trying to fight you, Sif!"

"But you are!" She yelled, tears in the corners of her eyes. "Every time you call me a princess, you're calling me a failure."

"I'm not!"

"They wanted a boy, Thor!" She was practically screaming now, but she couldn't stop herself. "They love you more than me and there's nothing that I can do to change that, you don't have to keep reminding me of it."

Thor opened his mouth to say something else, but she just wouldn't have it. Sif fought her way out of his graps and ran from the room. She needed to calm down before the masquerade and Thor wouldn't help her do that. He didn't understand. It was nice that he felt the way he did, but his feelings did nothing to soothe her. Not now and maybe not ever.

* * *

Sif didn't see Thor again until just before the ball. They didn't enter together, but no one in Asgard could mistake the crown prince, even if those visiting could. He was much too loud, his voice too recognizable. She wanted to be more conspicuous than that, so she would avoid him at all cost. She had chosen a mask that not only covered the entire top half her face, exposing only her cheeks and lips, but also hide her hair beneath a false layer of black. If anyone looked for her, they would be hard pressed to spot her like this.

Asgard had a very large ballroom, with floors of polished gold and lights hung everywhere. The doors were open ob both sides of the room, providing two entrances, two exits, and too many people. Sif hated these things and she did not intend to stay long.

As she wandered, she wondered if she could spot any of her peers. The castle had been host to many other pupils over the last year. There were those that came to be warriors, such as Hogun from Vanaheim, a quiet bot that she and Thor had spared with on numerous occasions, and then there were mages like Loki from Jotunheim. Loki had been in the castle the longest and it didn't take a scholar to figure out that it was a bid for peace from both realms. She had thought the jotunn attendants would be easier to spot, but despite how hard she looked, there was no blue skin in sight.

"Strange," She mumbled to herself.

"What is strange?" A girl asked from her side.

Sif squeaked as she jumped around to face the voice. She was dressed in a thin black gown with gold accents and her mask hid only the area around her eyes, which were bright green. She giggled at Sif's surprise, hiding her face behind a fan as if to conceal her giggles.

"Jumpy?" The girl asked.

"You came out of nowhere!" Sif complained. "Of course I jumped."

"Well, when you are a mage," the girl said, twirling in place and disappearing into green smoke, "You can come and go as you please." She finished, standing behind Sif, making her jump again.

"Stop that," Sif insisted with a frown.

The girl winked and held out her fan to tap Sif's nose. "No." Sif knocked the fan away from her face. "So what is so strange? Hmm?"

Sif's frown remained as she looked away to scan the room again. "I don't see any Jotunns," She said. "I know that this masquerade is just a distraction so that we can sign peace treaties, but I don't see a single one. I would have thought they'd stand out more."

"Why? Because they are a million feet tall with claws for teeth?" The girl growled.

Sif looked at her with wide eyed surprise. "No... because they are blue."

"Oh..." The girl said, calming down. Her cheeks turned rosy and she fiddled with her fan. "M-my apologies. I heard some of the warriors speaking on my way in and I... um... well, never mind it. Forgive me."

"It's fine."

"Do you want to dance?" The girl blurted out. "We're suppose to dance and you look like a good partner."

"Oh! Uh..." Sif's hands rose like a barrier between them as she took a few steps back. "I can't really... I mean, I don't know how to lead..."

"Really?" The girl took a step closer. "I thought Asgard was very strict in that regard. The men lead, the ladies follows, pair off symmetrically and oppositely."

"What do you mean?" Sif asked.

"I mean, you all dance two by two, boys with girls and girls with boys."

"How else would you do it?"

The girl laughed. "You really don't know?"

"I don't."

"The Vanir sometimes dance in threes and fours. In Alfheim they sometimes pair boy to boy and girl to girl. Asgard is really uniform."

"You've been to Vaniheim and Alfheim?" Sif asked in surprise.

"Yep!" She winked again. "Asgard is not the only place that wishes peace. I have been to visit many places, though not for as long as I like. Maybe today will fix that." She twirled around Sif and she was surprised by how graceful the girl seemed to be. Sif would have tripped over her dress seven times by now. That was one reason why she hated the things.

"Who are you?"

"This is a masked ball!" The girl stressed. "That's suppose to be secret."

"Well, what should I call you?"

"What should I call you?" The girl questioned in turn.

Sif thought for a moment. "Call me, Thor."

The girl gave Sif a skeptical look. "You are not Thor."

Sif shrugged. "You asked what you could call me."

"You are right." The girl conceded. "That being the case, you may call me Loki."

Sif gave a the girl a look similar to the one she had received. "I wonder how the prince of Jotunheim would feel about you using his name."

"I don't think he would mind," The girl answered. She reached out to take Sf's hand. "Now then, it would be a waste for us not to dance."

"But I said-"

"That you could not lead, I recall." She cut Sif off with a smile. "I, however, am able to lead." She pulled Sif closer and in a few steps, the girl had become a guy. Her dress had turned to trousers, perky breast to muscular physique. In fact, she recognized the features beneath the mask.

"You look like Thor!" She gasped.

"I figure if you are using his name, you must be fond of him."

Even the voice had changed! Sif knew that magic could do a lot, her mother was a mage after all, but despite Sif's own gender, she had staunchly refused to learn anything about it. Part of that was imitation of Thor, who had always disdained his lessons be they magic or books, and Sif followed his lead a lot in her early years. Still, her mother had never done anything like this that Sif knew of.

"Is it okay for you to do that?" She asked.

"Well, if it is not, no one knows that I am me, now do they?" 'Loki' (or maybe she should say 'Thor') stuck his tongue out at her. "Not even you."

That got a laugh from Sif. "We'll look an odd pair."

He leaned forward and whispered, "The scandal is half the fun of it." He grinned and it was so perfectly Thor that Sif was sure that the girl (boy?) must have known him. "And if anyone complains, we are technically still a proper match. A girl and a boy, as far as they know."

"You can tell I'm a girl?"

"You voice hardly hides it."

That was something she probably should have considered. Maybe when this night was over she could get someone to make a charm or something to better disguise herself. Just for fun.

"Now, are you ready?"

The dance went smoothly and slowly. When she wasn't confined to a dress, Sif was pretty good with her steps. It was often joked that she had all the grace that Thor lacked. It was fifty fifty whether or not that thought made her smug or filled her with sorrow. She hated being compared to Thor sometimes. Yet here she was, using his name and his colors. As if she could really become a prince. What was she thinking?

"Hey."

Sif looked up and Loki placed a kiss on her lips. She squeaked and jumped away. It was way too awkward that a kiss from someone using Thor's likeness made her blush. "What was that?"

"Sorry, you looked too sad. I wanted to cheer you up."

"Don't kiss me while you look like my brother!" She yelled.

"Ah! So you are Lady Sif!"

"I..."

Loki began laughing, loud and long. "This is so much better than I thought."

Sif pushed him-hard. He just let himself fall over and continue laughing. People were watching them, now. Maybe they already had been and she was just now noticing. Sif decided to quickly exit the spotlight.

* * *

She breathed a sigh of relief once she was out of the ballroom. In truth, she'd stayed much longer than she thought she would. The queen would be proud. Well, maybe. She hoped so.

Sif barely had a moment alone before, "You left quickly."

"Loki!" She exclaimed as she jumped once again. She began to swear a storm inside her head. She was a warrior! She shouldn't be so easy to sneak up on, even if he had magic. Pausing, Sif had time to notice that he was once again a she. "You changed back."

"I thought it would be unfair to flirt with you while I looked like your brother."

Sif flushed. "So you thought it better to flirt me while you were a girl?"

"It could be funnier." Loki grinned.

Sif sighed. "We're outside the ball now. You could tell me who you are."

"I already told you."

"Loki?" Sif asked with a fair amount of skepticism on her face.

The girl shrugged. "You don't have to believe me."

Sif stared at her for a long moment. "Well, your disguise was better than mine."

"I doubt anyone else figured you out," Loki told her.

"Even with the yelling?"

"You weren't as loud as you thought you were." Loki smiled at her, leaned a little closer. "Why are you dressed like a prince, anyway?"

"I hate wearing dresses," Sif answered. "Among other things."

"I'd like to hear those other things."

Sif smiled as she looked at him. "Why are you so interested in me?"

"Because you're interesting," She answered. "You've been interesting since I first met you, this is just the first chance I've had to talk to you."

Sif gave Loki a questioning look. Loki stepped to her other side, changing form again. He was a very recognizable shade of blue, red eyes staring out from the mask, and the dress once again became trousers. Sif's mouth opened in surprise and Loki leaned forward and pressed a finger beneath her jaw to close it.

"I told you that I was Loki."

Sif didn't know how to express her surprise.

Loki grinned at her. "This is my first Aesir ball," He told her. "So I'm hoping that I can get you to come back in with me and dance, but if you want to go off, I'd like to come with you."

"Can all Jotunns do that?" Sif asked.

"Of course," He answered.

"But you've never done that before!"

"How would you know?" He asked her. "You and your brother are so busy trying to fight everything under the sun that you've never taken notice of anything else."

"That's not true!"

Loki gave her a flat look, effective even with the mask that obscured part of his face. "Princess Sigyn has tried to invite you to visit Vanaheim with her three times now. She's too nice, so she extends an invitation to you every time she visits her homeland and you haven't given her the time of day once. Amora has tried to speak to you about everything under the sun, and because her parents want her to be on friendly terms with Asgard to aid in peace efforts, she's not allowed to give up on you, but I bet you do not even remember her name when you see her."

Sif wanted to argue that, but she didn't even remember Sigyn, let alone anyone else. She remembered Hogun because he was a warrior. She remembered Loki because... because he was blue, if she were honest. Even if she wanted to ignore him, her awareness was better than to tune out her surroundings that much. His people were once enemies. She couldn't afford to be oblivious to him.

"I'm not mad," Loki said. "I didn't expect you to be interested in me." He reached out to take her hand. "Usually you avoid these events, so I've never had the chance to approach you. Since you are at this one, however, I'd like to finally speak with you."

Sif didn't have time to process her surprise. "O-Okay."

Loki returned to the female look he'd appeared in earlier as he tugged her back into the ballroom. "Tell me something," Loki said. "If you want to be a prince so badly, does that mean that you want a princess?"

"I hadn't considered it before."

Loki nodded. "I'm going to teach you how to lead!"

"What?"

"Then you can dance like a prince. I'll be the princess. Then you can tell me how you like it."

"Fine," Sif agreed. She was only a little reluctant. Loki was like a whirlwind and she kind of liked being swept up with him.

* * *

The lessons lead to dancing, lead to joking, lead to leaving. Loki was himself again, blue skin and trousers leading her to his favorite spots around Asgard. He could get to places that Sif had never been, which was how she found herself star gazing on the roof of the library.

"I've never had so much fun at one of these events," Sif told him.

"Good," He answered. "You need to have more fun."

Sif looked over at him curiously. "What do you mean?"

Loki kept his eyes trained on the sky as he answered. "I see you a lot going to the training yard and in the dinning hall. Thor's always laughing when you're together, but you never really look like you're having fun. You smile at him, but it never seems to last."

Sif pulled her knees close to her body and wrapped her arms around them, laying her head on her arms. "Thor can have fun no matter what he's doing," She says. "He's sweet and strong, nothing really gets him down. I'm not like that."

"Not like what?" Loki asked her. "Not sweet? Not strong? I've heard just as many tales of your bravery as I have his and you've been nothing but kind to me all night. I don't think you're lacking anything that Thor has."

"I'm not a prince," She mumbled.

"So what?" He asked strongly. She looked over and found him in a female form again. This one was looked hardly different that his normal self, blue and red eyed and raven haired, but there was no dress to accompany the form. "You do not need to be a prince. You were not a prince when you decided to pick up a sword. You were not a prince when you won countless battles. You do not to be a prince to win the respect of Asgard and if you do..." Loki's voice lowered as she continued. "If you do, perhaps the problem is with Asgard." Loki took her hand. "I do not think that there is a single thing wrong with not being a prince. I am not always a prince myself." She smiled as she gestured to her now female.

Sif smiled at him in return. "You do this even when you do not need to hide away at masquerades?"

"I do this whenever it pleases me," Loki answered. "If you want to be a prince, then fine, be a prince. But if you want to be a princess, I think it's okay to put on your dress and pick up your sword."

Sif smiled. "Thank you, Loki."

Loki reached out to take her hand, pressing a kiss to her palm. "And if you find yourself lonely, dear Sif, I find myself very much interested in more of your company."

Sif smiled and laced their fingers together. "I think that I would like that very much, Loki."


End file.
